In 2006, a group of citizens in White County, Georgia came together to discuss the need for a free clinic to serve the uninsured residents of the county.

The Community Helping Hands Clinic (CHHC) was incorporated in 2007. A local businessman donated a 2,500-square-foot storefront in the small town of Cleveland (pop. 3,500 as of 2020 Census). Local tradesmen and builders donated labor and materials to transform the space into a modern medical facility. Board members were named, as was a medical director.

On February 24, 2009, the clinic opened its doors to begin offering care to eligible residents.

In the years since, CHHC relied on support from the local community to continue its mission of serving adult low-income patients who lack health insurance and are suffering from chronic conditions including diabetes, hypertension, asthma and cardiovascular disease.

CHHC has received support from organizations including the Georgia Baptist Health Care Ministry Foundation, the Healthcare Georgia Foundation, the United Way of White County, the Rotary Club of White County, the Knights of Columbus and numerous local churches – along with, of course, Americans Helping Americans®.

It was in August 2019 when we put CHHC in our “New Partner Spotlight” reporting the concerning fact that in White County there was but one primary care physician 4,130 residents – ten times the national average of one doctor per 435 patients.

In addition, 16 out of every 100 county residents lacked health insurance and could not afford preventative care, or pay for medical treatment when the need arose.

“White County has many challenges regarding healthcare, a county which has no hospital, high patient-to-doctor ratio, and an above average number of residents without any type of insurance,” stated CHHC Executive Director Gene White. “With your help, we can resolve a few of those challenges and continue to serve the needs of our neighbors with quality and compassionate healthcare.”

Gene notes that CHHC receives no government funding, stating that “Rather, the free clinic relies upon voluntary donations of money, time and professional services” while at the same time providing high quality health care to hundreds of  uninsured low-income White County residents annually, and furnishing services with a retail value of more than $2 million per year.

And that’s why the grant funding CHHC receives each year from Americans Helping Americans® is so critical.

Last year, thanks to the supporters of Americans Helping Americans® we were able to provide grant funding totaling $15,000, and our goal for the coming year is to continue that amount.

Among the thousands of patients who have been treated by volunteer CHHC physicians and medical staff over the years is “Sam” who was in his early 50s when he came to the clinic in 2020 with a myriad of potentially life-threatening health issues.

“When this individual was first seen at CHHC about 18 months ago, he was diagnosed with high cholesterol, hypertension, asthma and was a borderline diabetic, aggravated by being overweight,” reported Gene in February 2020.

“He has been unable to work, has no income and no health insurance, and is not old enough to qualify for Social Security and Medicare. His sister provides all his housing, transportation, and serves as his caregiver.

“Over the course of the last year-and-one-half, he has been treated at CHHC for these conditions,” added Gene. “His blood pressure is now under control, he has access to inhalers to manage his asthma, and his cholesterol is reduced to safe levels.

“He recently reported that he ‘never felt so good’ and that he’s ‘moving better’ and no longer needs his cane or walker, whereas he used to ‘just hobble around.’

“If not for CHHC and his sister, this man might by now be hospitalized or deceased.”

Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, their work did not stop.

“The goal of this project is to continue to meet this need to provide health care for the indigent uninsured, even in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic disruption,” Gene told us in October 2021.

And when CHHC’s major fundraising activities were curtailed due to the pandemic, the grant funding from Americans Helping Americans® helped keep the clinic’s doors open, with Gene saying at the time that it was more critical than ever as its main sources of revenue had evaporated with the cancellation of two of its major fundraising events over the past year due to COVID-19.

“The support provided by Americans Helping Americans® is critical to enabling Community Helping Hands Clinic to continue to provide free health care to residents who would otherwise likely go without primary healthcare,” Gene said at the time.

In 2022, Gene explained why the clinic is desperately needed in the community saying, “Chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, asthma, and obesity are epidemic in our society. People with these problems require frequent medical attention, at least until their conditions are under control. Even patients with controlled conditions require more frequent monitoring than healthy people.

“Without a free clinic, White County residents with chronic ailments and without health insurance or the financial resources to cover the high cost of medical care would have to seek routine care at the emergency department of hospitals in adjoining counties or do without care.”

In his request for grant funding for 2025, Gene noted that Americans Helping Americans® is CHHC’s second largest funding source from four principal organizations (followed only by the United Way of White County with $24,000) and the county’s population significantly increased from 19,960 in 2010 to 28,003 in 2020, an increase of more than 40 percent

“At the same time, the ratio of potential patients to physicians practicing in the county has worsened significantly.”

He pointed out according to the University of Wisconsin county health rankings, this resulted in a resident/physician ratio of 7,110 to 1, compared to 1,520 to 1 for the state of Georgia and 1,330 to 1 for the U.S.

The ratio in White County in 2010 was 3,400 residents per physician, noted Gene, saying “These statistics suggest that there are many more people in our county who need and are eligible for free health care than we are currently serving.”

Gene said the grant funding would be utilized for employee salaries and associated expenses, treatment expenses such as diagnostic tests and supplies, building occupancy costs, office expenses such as cleaning, computers, maintenance and office supplies, and for an advertising campaign to increase the number of patients served and enhance the visibility of the clinic in the community.

In August, Gene reported that they have recently taken steps to treat more of the indigent uninsured of the county with patients regularly expressing their sincere gratitude “for the clinic’s free services, the physicians volunteering of their time after their regular ‘day-job’ hours, and the nursing and clerical volunteers who put in hundreds of hours monthly.”

And to the supporters of Americans Helping Americans® who enable us to provide financial assistance to CHHC to carry out its worthy mission, Gene wants them to know:

“The support provided by Americans Helping Americans® is critical to enabling Community Helping Hands Clinic to continue to provide free health care to residents who would otherwise likely go without primary healthcare.

 “We are grateful for the continuing support of Americans Helping Americans®. It is making a major impact on the health of low-income residents of our county.”